TEL Education + Canvas: Delivering Mission-Driven Learning at Scale

TEL Education is a nonprofit committed to making college more affordable and accessible, especially for students from underserved backgrounds. By offering scalable, online general education courses, TEL builds bridges between high schools and universities, helping students earn college credit while still in high school.

Through its turnkey dual enrollment program—which includes a high school partnerships team, curriculum and instruction experts, and dedicated support staff—TEL now serves institutions such as McMurry University, Oklahoma Christian University, Mid-America Christian University, Briar Cliff University, Warner Pacific University, Cedar Crest College, and Andrew College. As enrollments doubled, TEL partnered with Canvas to streamline delivery and improve the learning experience.

TEL Education's legacy learning platform was built for a much smaller operation. As the organization grew rapidly, with enrollments jumping from 1,500 to nearly 7,000 per semester, the increased demand outpaced the capabilities of the existing infrastructure. Instructors had limited communication tools, essential course updates were cumbersome, and reporting lacked the depth needed to track student performance or inform improvements.

Though their previous system provided a foundation, there was an opportunity to enhance the system’s accessibility and improve the overall experience for students. TEL's mission depends on affordability and access; their technology had become a barrier to both. They needed a robust, flexible platform that could scale quickly and support personalized instruction at a high volume.

To support rapid growth and deliver a better learning experience, TEL Education transitioned to Canvas. Instructors gained access to SpeedGrader and messaging tools, enabling timely, personalized feedback—something the previous platform couldn't offer. Canvas' sub-account and sectioning features allowed TEL to efficiently manage multiple partner schools and terms while reusable templates supported consistent, scalable course design.

TEL's instructional team created rich, interactive content using custom HTML and CSS without needing external design tools. Integrations with Copyleaks and Honorlock reinforced academic integrity, and Canvas APIs enabled custom reporting for continuous improvement. With Canvas, TEL didn't just upgrade its technology—they built a flexible foundation for meaningful, mission-driven learning at scale.

Canvas has allowed TEL Education to reimagine what effective, accessible, and engaging online education can look like—without requiring a massive development team or third-party design tools. Their instructional designers, many early in their careers, are building highly interactive, visually compelling courses using just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This scrappy, creative approach has resulted in courses that rival professionally designed content—and instructors now regularly embed videos, host discussions, and provide annotated feedback with ease.

Beyond content delivery, Canvas supports internal operations. TEL has developed a central Instructional Support Hub for onboarding and compliance, managing everything from cybersecurity training to FERPA certification. With Canvas as both a student- and staff- facing platform, TEL has streamlined operations and strengthened organizational cohesion.

In a model built on partnerships between high schools and universities, cohesion across systems matters. TEL Education leverages Canvas Trust relationships to deepen its collaboration with institutions like McMurry University. These partnerships allow students enrolled at TEL to access their courses directly through their home institution's Canvas instance.

This means a seamless experience for students—no need to navigate multiple platforms or logins. For institutional partners, it creates alignment and continuity, reinforcing the credibility and integration of TEL's programs. TEL's ability to meet partners where they are, both technically and pedagogically, has become a key differentiator.

"The move to Canvas enabled our campus to deliver quality and consistent instruction at scale. As our Dual Credit program grew from 20 students to nearly 2,000 students the homegrown LMS taxed our staff by requiring quite extensive manual intervention for administrative tasks like course enrollment. Additionally, our DCA program requires our university to integrate seamlessly with TEL Education to share resources and information," shared Dr. Grant Greenwood, McMurry University. "Canvas provided an opportunity to unify our separate LMS instances (TEL Education's instance and McMurry University's instance) through a bridge that reduced student confusion on how to navigate the LMS and improved the user experience. Moving fully to Canvas has enabled our teams to focus on education and service rather than IT and LMS support." 

Since adopting Canvas, TEL Education has seen tangible outcomes in student success and satisfaction. Pass rates increased by 12% over the first two terms, driven by more effective feedback, streamlined course design, and improved accessibility. Students also reported feeling more connected to their instructors and better supported throughout their learning experience.

Instructors are excited about Canvas, too. Technology complaints have nearly disappeared, and what was once a barrier to growth has become a strategic asset. With Canvas, TEL has expanded its course catalog, strengthened partnerships, and scaled operations—all while keeping its focus on quality, access, and affordability